Homelessness
The Stewart McKinney Act of 1987 defines a homeless person as Aone who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence, or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel or any public or private place not designated as sleeping accommodations for human beings@ (583). Included in the homeless population are people who stay with friends or family for a short period of time and then decide to find shelter on the streets because of conflict with the people whom they are staying with, or because of personal pride. In the early 1980=s homelessness was determined to be a major problem in the United States. These years saw a steep rise in the number of homeless, due to poor economy and diminishing financial help for housing and income.The homeless consist of all types, races, and ages of people. A large portion of the homeless population consists of men but the number of women and children living on the streets is on the rise. Current statistics show that women and children now make up around forty percent of the homeless population. According to John J. Macionis one-third of homeless people abuse drugs and one-fourth are mentally ill. The current homeless population is mostly non-white and has an average age of t
We should realize that society, as a whole is to blame for the homelessness situation and refrain from placing the blame on individuals. At which point the father then grabs his daughter by her hand and says to his family, Adon=t even look at him,@ and then rushes them away. This is mainly achieved by not allowing the homeless to use public property as a place to rest or sleep, placing Arestrictions on begging,@ and targeting specific areas where homeless are and forcing them to relocate or in some cases arresting them. Another reason for the increased number of homeless is the lack of affordable housing, especially in urban areas. 3 million people worked full time but were still below the poverty line (5). The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty determined that Apenalizing peopleY, will not deter them, since they have no alternative. The obvious solution to the problem of homelessness is to increase the amount of affordable housing and the number of living wage jobs. As stated in 1995 by the United States government, 36 million people or 13. @(3-4) The governments current Aout of sight, out of mind@ policies are simply not dealing with the problem. They may have had a Anormal,@ life but somehow they lost their footing along the way and were never able to regain it. The mainstreaming of institutionalized mental patients is another reason for homelessness. Imagine for a moment a nice young couple and their two children taking a trip to admire our nations capital at its most beautiful. Controversies on File points out that people stay away from areas where homeless people are because they do not wish to be confronted by panhandlers. Society thinks, Adon=t give them a dollar because they are just going to spend it on boose and drugs. It ruins our image of @America the beautiful, the land of the free and the brave.
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Acceptance Essays
